An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 eBook

[441] Humanity.—­Dr. O’Donovan,
with his usual conscientious accuracy, has given a
long and most interesting note on the subject of this
massacre, in the Annals of the Four Masters,
vol. v.p. 1695. Dowling is the oldest writer
who mentions the subject, and he expressly mentions
Crosby and Walpole as the principal agents in effecting
it. Dr. O’Donovan gives a curious traditional
account of the occurrence, in which several Catholic
families are accused of having taken part.

[442] Den.—­Faerie Queene, book iii
c. 3.

[443] Disorders.—­“In many
dioceses in England (A.D. 1561), a third of the parishes
were left without a clergyman, resident or non-resident....
The children grew up unbaptized; the dead buried their
dead.” Elizabeth had to remonstrate with
Parliament upon the “open decays and ruins”
of the churches. “They were not even kept
commonly clean, and nothing was done to make them
known to be places provided for divine service.”
“The cathedral plate adorned the prebendal sideboards
and dinner-tables. The organ pipes were melted
into dishes for their kitchens. The organ frames
were carved into bedsteads, where the wives reposed
beside their reverend lords. The copes and vestments
were slit into gowns and bodices. Having children
to provide for, the chapters cut down their woods,
and worked their fines ... for the benefit of their
own generation.” “The priests’
wives were known by their dress in the street, and
their proud gait, from a hundred other women.”—­Froude,
Reign of Elizabeth, vol. i. pp. 465-467.

CHAPTER XXVII.

FitzMaurice obtains Help from Spain and from Rome—­The
Martyrs of Kilmallock—­Death of FitzMaurice—­Drury’s
Cruelties and Death—­Arrival of San Jose—­His
Treachery—­Massacre at the Fort del Ore—­O’Neill
shows Symptoms of Disaffection—­Treacherous
Capture of O’Donnell—­Injustice to
Tenants—­O’Donnell attempts to Escape—­O’Neill’s
Marriage with Mabel Bagnal—­O’Donnell
Escapes from Dublin Castle—­Causes of Discontent—­Cruel
Massacre of Three Priests—­Tortures and Death
inflicted in Dublin on Bishop O’Hurley—­O’Neill’s
Insurrection—­His Interview with Essex—­He
marches to the South—­His Fatal Reverse at
Kinsale—­The Siege of Dunboy—­O’Neill’s
Submission—­Foundation of Trinity College,
Dublin, on the Site and with the Funds of a Catholic
Abbey.

[A.D. 1579-1605.]

Exaggerated rumours were now spread throughout Munster,
of the probability of help from foreign sources—­A.D.
1579. James FitzMaurice had been actively employed
on the Continent in collecting troops and assistance
for the Irish Catholics. In France his requests
were politely refused, for Henry III. wished to continue
on good terms with Elizabeth. Philip II. of Spain
referred him to the Pope. In Rome he met with
more encouragement; and at the solicitation of the
Franciscan Bishop of Killaloe, Cornelius O’Mullrain,